Judge chided for threatening comment

COLUMBIA -- The S.C. Supreme Court has scolded a county magistrate, but in this case it wasn’t one of Bluffton’s judges.

Greenwood County Magistrate Walter Martin was reprimanded for telling a defendant, “I’ll beat your ass if you call me a liar.”

The incident happened during bond court, and the judge immediately apologized, according to Tuesday’s reprimand. Martin said the comment didn’t reflect his typical style. He said he had not slept the night before because his disabled, 3-year-old son had awakened him.

Beaufort County’s brush with questionable judicial conduct was more substantial.

In 2008 magistrate Peter Lamb of Bluffton resigned after the state Supreme Court reprimanded him for calling crack cocaine addiction a “black man’s disease.” At the time he also acknowledged inappropriate conduct toward female employees.

Court records also showed Lamb told a defendant in a criminal domestic violence case to look at his victim during a bond hearing, which went against the orders of a detention center official. The court also said Lamb behaved in an “overly harsh manner” toward someone who spoke at a criminal domestic violence seminar.

South Carolina has about 300 magistrates, who take on landlord-tenant disputes, traffic tickets, set bail, and have civil jurisdiction over disputes involving up to $7,500.

The judges, who are not required to have a law degree but must go through training and pass an examination, serve by county for four-year terms. They are appointed by the governor upon the advice and consent of the Senate.

Magistrate salaries vary by county, and for Greenwood can be $43,980 - $58,640, depending on years served. For Beaufort County, among the highest-paying counties, magistrates earn $53,753 - $71,671.